Caught in a Landslide
by insertcleverandwittytitlehere
Summary: Sometimes all it takes for two people to find each other is a little scare.


This is the Chudley Cannons Captain checking in for Season 7 Round 9 of the QLFC.

**Prompt:** Bohemian Rhapsody

I pulled inspiration from the line "**caught in a landslide**" and I have incorporated the line, verbatim, "**I don't wanna die**" into my fic.

**Word count (before A/N):** 2308 words

**I'm not JK. I merely dabble.**

* * *

If a bird flew over the mountains in Romania, it would see the earth breathing with each rise and fall of the land. Green meadows and valleys would swoop for miles and miles, filled with little pink wildflowers and blue butterflies.

Rose liked to picture herself as that bird sometimes. Too often, she was trapped at her desk, staring out onto the dragon reserve from behind glass windows and wooden panes. Her skillset, while absolutely vital to the mission of the reserve, didn't get her out of the office much.

Dirt specialist.

That wasn't her official title, but it really did define what she was. And sure, sometimes she was released from her four-walled prison to gather samples, but really her life was a series of cauldrons, burners, and mud.

She was good at what she did. Six months ago, she had been called in specifically to test the soil on the reservation. A lot of the dragons were getting sick, and the handlers were at their wits' end trying to solve the problem. Someone suggested the water, which brought in testers, which brought in Rose. She had found high levels of iron in the muddy banks of the reserve's lakes, but that wasn't the problem. She was currently sifting through the soils used for growing crops, separating out the different elements using magic.

"Weasley."

Rose looked up from her desk where clay particles and minerals were pulling to opposite sides of her cauldron. Standing in the doorway was her boss, Henry, his eyebrow quirked up in question. The workers who came to Romania to manage dragons didn't quite understand her line of work. Her boss was no different, but they assigned her to him anyway. Every time he stopped in to talk to her, he looked anxious. Unsettled. Like if he breathed too hard, he'd ruin her work.

It was just dirt, though.

"I've got a new assignment for you, if you're up for it."

"New assignment?"

Henry nodded. "Remember how Ruby got out last week?"

Boy, did she. The Romanian Longhorn had broken off her chain and flew straight upward. Rose envied her.

But then Ruby burned thousands of acres of fields. It was not a good day on the reservation.

"Well," her boss continued, "someone from the Ministry is here to, er, assess the damage. My guys are busy with that new Green Welsh litter. Would you mind driving him around?"

Rose nodded. Anything to get outside for even a minute. Plus, she liked driving. There was a strict no-Apparition rule at the reserve. The popping sounds frightened the younger dragons, and getting them to calm down again was stressful to say the least. Rose had learned how to drive during her seventh year at school, and she absolutely preferred it to other wizarding means of travel.

"When do we leave?"

"Right now," said Henry. "Mr. Malfoy is waiting outside."

Rose's heart dropped. Of all the people… it had to be her ex.

* * *

Scorpius rubbed the toe of his shoe into the clay soil. It was hotter in Romania than he expected, and the hairs on the back of his neck were starting to stick to his skin, slick with sweat.

He did not want to come to Romania.

He did not want to come six months ago, and he certainly didn't want to be there now.

But some underpaid and overworked handler lost control of a Longhorn, and now he _was _there, in the exact place that had caused him so much heartache for months. As long as he could pop in and out without seeing her, he'd be fine.

Scorpius looked toward the small, grey building Henry had disappeared into. He felt bad for Henry, honestly, because Scorpius understood how stressful it was to have someone checking up on your work. The reserve had few problems and was probably the best run dragon reservation in the world.

But sometimes, these things happen.

Henry emerged, followed by a young woman. Red hair. Scorpius nearly ran.

Rose stood perfectly tanned with her deep red curls pulled up into a messy bun. She was wearing cargo shorts and a white tank top. Everything about her said confident, from the tilt of her head to her hands on her hips. She was everything he remembered and more.

Merlin, he was in trouble. He wished he could just fly away.

"Mr. Malfoy, this is Rose Weasley, our lead edaphologist. She'll be taking you to the burn site today. Rose," Henry turned to her, "this is Scorpius Malfoy, from the Department of—"

"Magical Law Enforcement, Muggle division," she finished. "We've met."

Her cerulean blue eyes locked with Scorpius' own green ones. That's all it took for his heart to plummet into the base of his spine. They had more than met, but of course she couldn't say that to her boss. Scorpius merely nodded in her direction and followed her over to dirt-splattered Jeep.

"Climb in," she said, already hoisting herself up into the driver's seat. Scorpius attempted to open the door, but his hand slid right off. He wiped his palm on his jeans, cursing how his body reacted to just seeing her.

He knew he still loved her. He never stopped. But he was still so angry.

* * *

The door slammed shut, enclosing them in a bubble of awkward silence. Rose started up the Jeep and headed toward the field Ruby had burned, the twists and turns as familiar as Scorpius had once been to her.

But now, she gulped, he was a stranger, wasn't he?

"Jeans?" she heard herself say. She didn't mean to, but the word slipped out without thought. She had spotted them the moment she exited the office building, and she couldn't stop thinking about them now.

"Yes?" he answered. But he didn't continue and she didn't want to explain herself.

It was just… jeans were never his style. His father would probably die if he saw his son in jeans. So why did he have them on?

Rose shook her head and turned. The lush green of Romania was waiting for her, and for a moment she was a bird again, taking it all in from above. She barely noticed when the first rain drops started to fall, blurring the Jeep's front window.

"Rose?"

She looked to Scorpius.

"Are you going to use your wipers?"

She looked back at the road, barely visible through the zig zags of water running across the glass. "Oh," she said.

Several more minutes passed, the rain picking up in speed. Rose smiled to herself, knowing full well a storm like this was needed.

"I wear them when I visit Muggle-specific areas."

Rose looked to Scorpius again, his beautiful green eyes fixed on the road. Merlin, she hated how attractive he was to her—tousled blond locks, the sharp chin and cheekbones. And he looked good in those jeans and button down.

"Makes sense," she said. If he was trying, she could too. After all, it was because of her that things ended. "How have you been?"

"Great," he said. But he didn't smile. Or blink. Or even turn his head toward her.

"Yeah? That's good."

The rain started to let up. Rose pressed the gas pedal down, hoping to get to the field faster. The quicker Scorpius did what he needed to, the better. Beneath them, the tires trekked along on the muddied path.

"What was the story the Muggles were told?"

"Oh. Um, wildfire, I think," Rose said. That really wasn't her area at the reserve though. "Despite what you're seeing right now, it's been a pretty dry summer here."

They fell back into silence.

And it killed her. Rose's heart began to ache something awful, like an entire Longhorn was coiled around her chest. This was not the same Scorpius she left six months ago, full of laughter and fun and life. This was the man she'd hurt. Three years, and she picked a job—this job—over him.

"Scorpius, I'm so—"

"What's that?"

Rose looked up. She slammed on the breaks, the Jeep skidding to a stop.

"Shite!"

She threw the vehicle into reverse, her hands shaking as she guided them backwards. The wheels dug int the wet ground.

"What?! Rose, what is it?" Scorpius screamed. But Rose couldn't stop, not when hundreds of tons of mud was rushing at them.

She spun the wheel, their bodies whipping as the Jeep righted itself. Back into drive, and she was off, pushing the gas pedal down to the floor.

"Rose!"

"Landslide," she grunted, her whole body pushing against the wheel, urging them to go faster, faster, faster.

But she knew better. The sounds of the muddied earth rushing like water overtook the sound of the engine, and Rose froze. Her foot slipped off the gas and the vehicle slowed. The back wheels were already being pulled in the opposite direction. She threw her hands up in front of her face.

"I don't wanna die!" she screamed.

"Protego!" Scorpius yelled at the same time.

They jerked to a stop. Rose lowered her hands, her eyes staring wide as the mud slipped past them, pulling every root with it.

"I don't wanna die," she whispered. "Not like this."

* * *

Scorpius could feel his heart exploding in his chest, his sweaty hand wrapped tight around his still-extended wand. Slowly, he lowered it, pocketing the stick. Rose was cowering in the driver's seat, her back pressed against her door.

"Hey," he said, feigning clam. "Hey, it's okay."

He slowly reached his hand out to grab her own, and the moment he touched her skin, he regretted it.

He could feel her blood rushing through her fingertips, could feel the electric pulse of her heart beat in time with his own. He could have pulled her to him there and then, but no. Not after everything…

So he asked her what was happening.

"Lan-landslide," she said, sitting up only the slightest bit. Her hand clutched his now. "It's actually quite common after wildfires. Much of the vegetation holding the earth in place is gone, loosening the soil."

She looked into his eyes now, and Scorpius could tell she was happy to be talking about something she understood so well.

"Rain water can push the earth to move. It's like… like a river of mud. A landslide. We could have been…"

"Pulled away?"

"Or worse," she whispered.

Scorpius briefly looked out the window, glad his spell had protected them from being buffeted around by the mud. It really did look like a river of mud, rushing downhill, off the road.

"We could have died," Rose whimpered. Scorpius felt her clutch his hand even tighter, her nails digging into his skin. He wanted to pull away, but another part of him wanted more. Just to feel her again.

"I'm sorry," tears spilled out of her eyes.

"Rosie, you didn't cause a landslide," he smiled. But Rose shook her head, leaning forward.

"No, no. For leaving," she said. "I was wrong."

Scorpius sat back, dropping her hands.

He didn't want to hear this. Not here, in Romania. Not now, after a scare like that.

"Rose—"

"I didn't even say goodbye. Who d-does that?" She was crying freely now, her hands running through her hair and messing up her bun. "I slipped out in the night."

"I can't do this, Rose. I—"

"—I messed up—"

"—still love you."

He watched as his words landed.

"You do?"

He nodded, turning his gaze back to the rushing mud. "I do. How could I stop after all those years together. But I'm so angry, Rose, I can't even believe I'm talking to you right now."

She scoffed, wiping away a tear. "Near death experiences can do that."

Scorpius smirked.

"I messed up. I got scared. I—"

"Broke my heart?"

"If it's any consolation," she said after a few more minutes, "I broke mine, too."

The landslide left as quickly as it came. Rose started up the Jeep again and drove back to the reserve, both of them choosing silence.

Scorpius didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure anything would amount to much.

* * *

Rose parked the vehicle in its designated spot. But instead of shutting it off, she let it idle. She wasn't done talking, not yet, and if Scorpius got out now, she'd never know.

He still loved her.

That amounted to something.

She took a deep breath.

"I love you, Scor," she whispered. "I'm so ashamed of myself. I thought this job would be more than it is, and I was so afraid to give up an opportunity I thought was once in a lifetime. But it's nothing like I thought… I'm trapped inside all day. I'm always… I always imagine I'm you..."

"Me?"

"Your animagus… I picture myself as a songbird, soaring over the fields," she closed her eyes, even picturing it now. "It's the only time I really feel at home. It is beautiful, Scor. And I'm with you…"

At first, he didn't respond. Rose wanted to scream, or cry again.

"How much longer till you're done?"

She finally looked at him, his green eyes staring into her own.

"I'm not sure?"

"Look, clearly we have some things to work through, but I'm willing to try, Rosie," he grabbed her hands again. "But I want to go slow."

"Yes," she whispered. "Yes, please. I want that, too."

"Okay."

* * *

Scorpius flew over the mountains in Romania, watching as the earth breathed with each rise and fall of the land. Green meadows and valleys swooped for miles and miles, filled with little pink wildflowers and blue butterflies.

There was only one patch of land, ashen and brown.

For Scorpius, though, it was the most beautiful part of the country. It brought the promise of growth.

A new start.


End file.
